


Mister Cellophane

by paperclipbitch



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: M/M, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-25
Updated: 2012-06-25
Packaged: 2017-11-08 13:24:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/443646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperclipbitch/pseuds/paperclipbitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Ryan was </i>clearly <i>enjoying himself a little too much coming up with dance routines for Troy so he should probably stop bitching.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Mister Cellophane

**Author's Note:**

> Set during HSM3. Written for amory_vain on LJ. All angsty and unrequited because I suck.

Kelsi’s eyes are annoyingly knowing, though she’s sat demurely at the piano, hat tilted carefully over her face. 

Of course, it’s probably just as well that the girl he’s taking to prom is _aware_ that he’s not taking her with the intention of undressing her and doing various inappropriate things to her afterwards, but _still_. Ryan could really do without the judgemental little glances she throws his way from time to time; especially since Shar is currently so caught up in her own _terribly noisy_ personal crises that she hasn’t actually noticed that Ryan is being, you know, _embarrassingly_ obvious.

Even Chad Danforth has started giving him measured and thoughtful looks and that’s just plain _worrying_. Any minute _Jason_ will put two and two together and then Ryan will actually have to kill himself for having no subtlety at _all_.

It’s inevitable, at East High, that any performance will turn into _The Troy And Gabriella Show_ ; Ryan hasn’t yet figured out if this is actually any _worse_ than _The Ryan And Sharpay Show_ (and it’s considerably less incestuous) but it does mean spending embarrassing amounts of hours choreographing everything so the student body can have what they want: Creepy Amounts Of Troy And Gabriella Being Mushy.

(“Don’t you get a _little_ sick of it?” he asked Kelsi, when they were beginning to create their Senior Year Musical. “You know, writing songs for Troy and Gabi all the time?”

All Kelsi did was shrug and point out that at least now her duets got to be _actual_ duets, not showcases for Sharpay, and also that Ryan was _clearly_ enjoying himself a little too much coming up with dance routines for Troy so he should probably stop bitching.)

However, since Gabi has decided to go exercise her oversized brain a thousand miles from here, the show is rapidly falling apart and Ryan is trying to adjust all his painstakingly constructed choreography to Shar’s overambitious standards while not terrifying Troy too much. It doesn’t help that all the other people in the theatre are currently _also_ varying degrees of miserable and pissed (and are paying way too much attention to the way Ryan has pretty much spoken _solely_ to Troy this rehearsal); _unproductive_ doesn’t even begin to cover it.

Ms Darbus must notice this as well because she sighs and dismisses everyone. Shar is pouting as she clicks off; she’s wearing eye-damaging pink today, and yeah, _ok_ , but there is such a thing as taking a signature colour _too far_. Ryan sighs, and tries to remind himself that this is not _actually_ Shar’s fault. 

Troy is looking exhausted, kicking at the white fence currently strung across the front of the stage. Ryan tries to resist going over to do some kind of equivalent of a pep-talk (because he can’t just yell _what team?_ and miraculously fix everything) but after watching for another moment he realises that Troy is _really_ freaking out. And if Troy quits the show then it’s only a matter of time before all the other Wildcats run for it, and then Ryan will be left with all this awesome choreography that will never get seen and then he will _never_ get into Juilliard.

At least, that is how he justifies it.

“Hey,” he says quietly, leaning on the fence beside Troy, leaving a careful space between the two of them.

Troy sighs, not looking straight at him. “Hey man.”

Ryan flails mentally for words for a moment, envying Shar, who always seems to have words at any given time. They may not be the _right_ words, but they’re at least _there_. Apparently his silence helps, though, because Troy volunteers:

“I’m not getting it. I thought I was, but I’m just… _not_.”

Darbus shuffles her notes together and slips out the back, leaving the two of them alone in the auditorium. Ryan does his best not to explode.

“You _are_ getting it,” he insists. “You’re just… disconcerted. We all are. But you’ll get there.”

One day, when Ryan is super famous and has a one-man show on Broadway, he will get Kelsi to write him a heart-rending song about his doomed crush on a jock. Although actually, Kels is kind of better at fluffy love songs, so maybe he’ll have to get someone else to do it. Whatever way it works out, it’ll be totally upsetting.

Troy is still looking unconvinced so Ryan sighs, putting careful hands on the other boy’s shoulders and straightening him up, putting him in position.

“Humour me,” he says, with an attempt at his most winning smile, and weirdly enough Troy does.

Ryan starts humming _Just Wanna Be With You_ and manages not to choke when Troy joins in, the two of them running through the dance alone in the theatre, holding hands, bodies entwining. Ryan reminds himself that he needs this show to succeed if he’s going to get that scholarship, and this is in no way an excuse to touch Troy way too much under the pretext of _dance practice_ , because that would be sad and desperate and kind of masochistic.

Troy finishes humming the song with a smile, hand lingering in Ryan’s for a moment. He gives one of those irritatingly charming smiles.

“You’re a better dancer than Sharpay,” he offers at last, voice warm. “You should be the one getting all the attention.”

Ryan shrugs, reverting to blushing modesty. “It’s ok,” he murmurs, “I’m going to steal the Juilliard scholarship out from under her nose.”

And then he remembers he doesn’t want Troy to know that there are _two_ Evans bitches currently attending East High. Luckily, Troy laughs.

“Hey man,” he says quietly, “Thanks, you know?”

“It was nothing,” Ryan tells him. “You already knew all of it-”

“No.” Troy shakes his head, still smiling. “I mean, this is the most fun I’ve had since Gabi left.”

_Oh God_ , Ryan thinks, and reflects that he is probably going to end up breaking his heart over Troy Bolton.

It’s kind of really worth it.


End file.
